Sergio Garcia wiser, happier and perhaps a better golfer

12:50 PM, July 16, 2014
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Sergio Garcia was high on the leaderboard in 2006 the last time the British Open was at Royal Liverpool. He couldn't defeat Tiger Woods for the title but his canary outfit caused a splash. Garcia is back at Royal Liverpool this week to try to win his first major. / Eileen Blass USA TODAY Sports

by Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY Sports

by Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY Sports

The complex Spaniard returned to Royal Liverpool Golf Club this week for the 143rd British Open eight years older and a bit wiser than he was when he made a run at the title here in the 2006 British Open.

Back then, as he always wore his emotions on his sleeve, Garcia would go back and forth between celebrations and sulking spells that proved detrimental to his game.

That weekend was a perfect snapshot.

He was ecstatic when he shot a blistering 63 in the third round to gain entry into the final group on Sunday alongside Tiger Woods. And he was moping in the final round when his frail psyche buckled following three-putt bogeys on the second and third holes as he fell into a tie for fifth as Woods won his third Claret Jug.

That Sunday Garcia showed up in an eye-popping canary yellow outfit from head to toe save for his white belt. The outfit not only turned heads but drew forth some criticism, almost as much as his final-round 73 did. But as he sat on a bench near the Royal Liverpool clubhouse on a beautiful Tuesday afternoon he joked about the canary outfit whose whereabouts are unknown.

"That outfit is long gone," Garcia, now 34, said with a laugh. "I have no idea what happened to it. I know I didn't burn it. I'm not like that. I've played well wearing yellow and I've played badly wearing blue and black and white and red. I'm not superstitious like that in that aspect."

Garcia has left behind his petulant attitude, as well, one that didn't endear himself to his fellow players and fans alike.

Like when his inner demons got the better of him in 2007 after he lost a playoff to Padraig Harrington at Carnoustie in the British Open. His putt to win in regulation on the final hole spun out. Afterward, Garcia complained that the golf gods were out to get him and that he was playing against more than the field.

There were numerous other outbursts, including in 2012 when he said he didn't have the game to win a major championship and his he said, he said, verbal tussle with Woods in the 2013 Players Championship.

But the winner of eight PGA Tour titles and 11 European titles said he has learned from his mistakes and although he is still chasing his maiden major after 63 attempts, he won't live or die with what happens on the golf course.

"Everything is helped by what happens outside the golf course," Garcia said. "Things have been much better. I have felt comfortable and I'm trying to do things the right way and take things the right way and not let it bother me as much as it did earlier in my career when things weren't going well.

"We get older and we learn from mistakes, and I've made my share but I think I've learned from them."

His game bears that out. In his last 44 starts worldwide, he has 22 top-10s, including four victories.

"Since 2011 I have been very happy with my game," Garcia said. "I have played nicely and given myself a lot of opportunities and I feel I deserved to win two or three times more than I did. At least I put myself in those situations. It's been good and I'm trying to keep doing the same thing."

Off the course, his relationship with Katharina Boehm, a German-born collegiate golfer from the College of Charleston whom he met a few years ago in Germany, has been instrumental. She was on the bag when Garcia won the Asian Tour's Thailand Golf Championship in December.

"She has obviously helped for sure," Garcia said. "We have been together for a year and four months now. She's great to be with. But she hasn't been the only thing that has helped me. I played well before we started dating but I do feel very happy on and off the golf course and she's a big reason why."

Garcia is also feeling good because he's playing the Open, which always gets his juices flowing.

"The Open is always very special," Garcia said. "It is my favorite individual tournament. Not only because of the golf courses and the history of it but because of the people.

"And there is a beauty to playing links golf that is special. I've always enjoyed links courses. It always depends on the weather when you are on a links course. If the wind blows it becomes harder; if it's calm it's a little easier. At the end of the day you just have to try and be as comfortable as possible."